1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the mounting of components on printed circuit boards and in particular to a method of mounting surface mounted components which minimizes lead inductance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In prior art printed circuit board assemblies wherein RF devices are mounted in a blanked cut-out in the printed circuit board, it has been necessary to make solder connections to the device leads at some distance from the device body. When mounting such surface mounted devices, (for example, flange, macro-X, and other RF type packages) are utilized, the length of the lead from the point exiting the main body of the device to the point at which the lead is soldered to the electrical circuit on the printed circuit board determines the lead inductance. For RF circuitry this lead inductance decreases RF gain and stability due to degenerative feedback and in addition decreases bandwidth. Thus, it is desirable to minimize the lead length thereby minimizing lead inductance.